From Tribune staff reports
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.–U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and FBI Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. Peeples announced on Thursday an indictment has been unsealed charging a Morris man with a child exploitation offense.
The one-count indictment filed in the U.S. District Court charges Joel Wesley Dillard, 46, with possession of child pornography arising out of events that occurred in October 2022.
Dillard was previously convicted in the Circuit Court for Etowah County for possessing obscene material depicting a minor.
The maximum penalty for possession of child pornography is 20 years in prison.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
